Kroger, 2411 W. State Street

Possibly because of Mr. Mackey, Dad chose to apply for the position of manager of the new Kroger Store in Rockford. and sure enough, He was offered and accepted the position as manager, leaving A&P. It must have been exciting for Dad to move to a new company and a new store.

He must also have been happy to leave the supervision of Mr. Mackey. He didn’t complain about the district manager of Kroger. But then Harry Osborough was still with A&P, and Dad had no one with whom to “bitch” about his supervisor like Harry and he had done when both of them were at A&P. But when we’d go down to Rochelle to visit “Uncle Harry” and “Aunt Irma,” Dad would continue to hear Harry’s diatribes against the infamous Mr. Mackey. Dad was manager of the East State Street Kroger store from 1945 to 1948.

During that time, Mom was still working at Dad's side. I still remember the stories Dad told about how he’d somehow make food donations, including candy and cigarettes, available to Father O'Malley at St. Patrick’s and Father Murphy at St. Edward’s to benefit their needy families and school kids, despite the OPA rationing during the waning days of World War II. Or earlier when unemployment was high before the war: “Stan, do you think you can spare some groceries for some of the out-of-work families at St Edward’s?” Fr. Murphy would ask. Dad would never say no.

And I also remember the way Mom would get the most out of our grocery budget by redeeming bruised fruit and outdated vegetables from what would—without her intervention—become garbage.

The building that once was the Kroger store now houses Primera Iglesia de Dios [First Church of God], a Bible-based church for the Hispanic community.